Elevator for letters



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. BREID. BLEVATOR FOR LETTERS, &o. No. 426,418. Patented Apr. 22, 1890.

rus Noms Parmis ca., PHuTLIYHo., wAsmrm'mn, n. c.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

C. E. REID.

l ELEVATOE EUR LETTERS, &c. No. 426,418. Patented A (sheets-sheen 4.

(No Model.)

C. E. REID. ELBVATOR PoR LETTERS, am.

`1?:Lte11ted Apr. 22, 1890.

www-Z@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. REID, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

ELEvAToR FOR LETTERS, am.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,418, dated April 22, 1890.

Application filed September 27,1888. Serial No. 286,492. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. REID, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in t-he county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Elevators for Letters and other Articles, of which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to elevators for the conveyance of letters and packages from a lower to a higher story in dwellings and other buildings, so that letters and other articles dropped into the elevator in the lower story can be raised to such higher story with facility. It is intended that each story shall have its own elevator and its own separate well, as is provided also in my previous patent, No. 302,776, dated July 29, 1884:. The letter or article to be taken up is deposited by the postman in the carrier of the elevator through the hinged door, and his action in opening the door of the drop-box causes a signal to be given on the floor where the top of the elevator is situated. The occupant of such floor then operates the elevator so as to bring up the carrier, to which he can obtain access through a door placed in the upper part of the well. Having taken out the letters from the carrier, the operator walks away.` The Spring-door of the carrier being released, the door immediately closes, thereby releasing the carrier, as hereinafter explained, when the carrier descends automatically to its former position on the lower story, ready for another operation.

The peculiar and novel construction of my improvement is described and pointed out in the following specification and claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a front elevation, partly in section, showing the improvement applied to a house having several stories, each story being provided with its separate well and elevator. There is a stack of four elevators or wells represented in the figure, the elevator situated on the right-hand side in the said figure extending up to the second story, where the partition-wall is broken away to show the hoisting apparatus that appertains to that elevator. Fig. 2 is a vertical section 011 the line a' m of Fig. l, showing the carrier in position in the lower part of the well to receive letters from the drop-box. Fig. 3 lis an elevation of the hoisting apparatus and carrier of one of the elevators. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of part of the hoisting apparatus taken on the line y y of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is avertical section of the pulley at the top of the hoisting apparatus taken on the line 'a u of Fig. 3. is a sectional view taken on the line '.c Fig. 8, showing the spring-stop to arrest the carrier. Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line x2 m2, Fig. G. Fig. S is a sectional view taken on the line ons x3, Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is a sectional View taken on the line 0c@ 0c, Fig. 2.

Similar letters and figures indicate correspondin g parts.

In the drawings, the letter Adesignates the elevator-wells, in each of which is to be placed a carrier B. A stack of four such wells is represented in Fig. 1. They are all constructed substantially in the same manner, except that they vary in length, as they are carried to different stories of thebuilding. Each is provided with such a carrier B, which runs up and down in the well, being drawn up by a hoisting apparatus C, that is mounted on the wall alongside or convenient to the upper part of the well, as is 'represented in Fig. 1, where the walllor partition D, which covers the hoisting apparatus, is removed. Each of the other wells is provided with a similar hoisting apparatus located near the upper end of the well; but they do not appear in Fig. l,because the gure does not represent the other wells above the second story..

The wells A are preferably made fire-proof.

In Fig. 2 is shown the lower part of a well, in which is seen the carrier B, resting on the upper edges of a platform E, which is snpported on a spring F, whose lower end rests `on a fixed partition G, extending across a casing I-I, fitted in the lower part of the well. The platform E is adapted to slide in the casing H as far down as the shoulder I. The platform E consists of a frame whose vertical sides are connected by a horizontal piece. The height to which the platform E can be pushed upward by the spring F is limited by the shoulder .I in the sides of the well A. The carrier B in its lower position (see Fig. 2) comes opposite a glass window K, made in one of the sides of the well, and a similar window Fig. G

IOO

the carrier, so that the interior and the contents of the carrier can be seen through the two windows. The lower door K has a lower pane extending nearly across its width, and above such lower pane four smaller panes. The several panes are divided by strong crossbars or muntins, which will prevent a thief who may break the glass from inserting his hand and abstracting the contents of the carrier. The lower pane enables one to see if there is any mail in the carrier, even if the tablet hereinafter mentioned is present therein, as the tablet will be opposite the smaller panes. The carrier is also provided on one of its sides with a slide M, by means of which access is had to the interior of the carrier to remove its contents when it has been moved up to the proper floor.

One of the objects of the arrangement of the windows K L, as described, is to use the carrier as a means of informing callers and friends of the absence of the occupants. For example, the occupant, having prepared cards or tablets of suitable size, writes upon one of them-information of his contemplated absence from home, and, having raised the carrier upto the floor of his apartment, lifts the slide and places the tablet in the carrier with its written face against the glass of the window L. The carrier, having then descended with the tablet to the lower floor,presents the written face of the tablet to those persons who may enter upon that floor, and they become aware of the contents of the message. Thus, if a family is leaving their apartments and expeet callers to whom they wish to convey any message, they can do so by means of the carrier, as described. In like manner correspondence in cases of sickness or contagious disease in any given familyin an apartment- -house can be carried on 'between members of such family and those of any of the other families in the house, provided they station themselves at the lower point of access-to `the elevator-well, where the tablet can be read when the carrier is at rest below. The carrier is preferably constructed to engage and be guided by vertical grooves O in a wall A.

The carrier B, as represented in Fig. 2, is in position to receive letters or other articles, its front side, which is lower than its-other sides, being opposite the drop-box P, which is placed in and over an opening made for that purpose in the lower part of the well. The drop-box Pis provided with an inlet Q, which is keptclosed by an inner door R, which door is opened by suitable devices and is closed by means of the weight of arm 4. Letters or articles introduced through the inlet Q pass into the carrier over the inclined plane U.

Before the door R has been opened as far as the star the arm Thas been moved against the lever Vfar enough to turn the bell-crank VNV, and thereby pull the bell-wire X and ring the bell Y, (seen in Figs. 1 and 3,) and at the same time, if desired, to operate a visual annunciator, (seen in Figs. 6 and 8,) the arrangement being such thatno mail-matter or other article can be inserted through the dropbox into the carrier until the bell has been rung, as the door R does not reach the place of star (ik) until after the alarm has been sounded.

The hoisting apparatus is fixed in a receptacle 5 in the story to which the carrier is to be hoisted, and consists in a driving-wheel 6, which is turned by a crank 7, arranged to be folded in a recess 8 in the walljwhen 'not in use. The wheel 6 is fast on its shaft, and it has on one side a series of cogs 9, which are engaged at certain times by a brake-arm 10` so as to stop the revolution of wheel Gand4 the connected wheels. This is done automatically, as will be below explained. The periphery of wheel 6 is by preference coated with leather and is in contact with the periphery of wheelll, which is by preference coated with rubber. The wheel 11 is fast on shaft 12, and said shaft is mounted in spring-bearings so arranged as to be pressed continually downward, whereby the wheel l1 is pressed continually against wheel 6. Upon the same shaft 12` is fixed the pulley 13, from which exten ds the round leather band 14, which passes around the small pulley 15 and transmits niotion to its shaft 16, on which shaft is also fixed the drum 17.

The top of the carrier B is provided with a strengthening-bar 18 across its top and with a bail 19, to which is fastened one end of a rope 20, around which is secured a disk 21, on which rests the Iiaring mouth 22 of a tube 23, which extends upward through the casing 2l. The rope 20 is conducted upward through the tube 23, and thence around the pulley 25 and down to drum 17, to the face of which it is fastened. Around the lower part of the tube IOO 23, and resting on the top of its flaring mouth,

is placed a spiral spring 26, whose upper end bears against the bottom of the casing 24. The top of tube 23 is provided with a disk 27, to which is fastened a cord 28, which is conducted thence downward to the brake-arm 10, to whose free end it is secured. The other end of the brake-arm is secured by a hingejoint to the frame in which the hoisting apparatus is placed.

The operation of the hoisting apparatus is as follows: The occupant of the floor, who has beensignaled to, operates the hoisting apparatus, and thereby hoists the carrier B with great speed, the several wheels being arranged as shown for that purpose. 21 of the carrier strikes the haring mouth 22 vof the tube 23, it suddenly compresses the spring 26 and produces slackness in the cords 20 and 28 and allows the brake-arm 10 to fall upon the cog-wheel 6 between adjoining cogs, and thereby stop the wheel and prevent it from turning in either direction. Vhile the carrier is being hoisted the rope 20 is wound upon the drum 17 as the carrier is being drawn up. In order to prevent the rope 2O from be- IIO When the disk ing thrown oft from pulley 25 when slackness is suddenly made on the rope, I fasten to each side of the pulley a metal rim 29 29, which is annular, revolves with the pulley, and projects beyond the entire periphery ofthe latter, and is then contracted, and is then bent outward, so that when the rope is momentarily thrown upward it will strike the sides of the rim and be guided back to its place on the pulley. lVhen the carrier has been hoisted, it is allowed to rest upon the spring-stop 30,'(see Fig. 6,) which is hinged at its lower end at 31 in a recess in the side of the well, while its upper end is pushed outward by a spring 32. An anti-friction roller 33 is placed at the upper end of the stop on its outside to allow the carrier to move past it withvery little friction.- The stop is represented in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. When the carrier is up in its higher position, the door 34 is thrown open to allow access to the carrier to remove its contents. I/Vhen the door is being closed, the bent arm 35 strikes the jointed spring-lever 3G, whose longer arm engages with the upper end of the spring-stop and suddenly withdraws the latter inward from beneath the carrier and the carrier falls to its lower position, the arm 35 meanwhile passing the lever 36 and allowing it to resume its normal position (shown in Fig. 1l) ready for a repetition of the operation when the door is againlshut. It is obvious from the drawings that the opening of the door will not operate the lever 36 nor act on the stop 30.

The carrier is intended to tit the well A in cross-section, but not so closely as to hinder it from moving easily therein. To prevent it from descending too rapidly therein, I secure to its bottom a sheet of felt 37, which is of such size as to extend a little beyond the bottom edges of the carrier and to come in contact with the sides of the well. I may also for the same purpose provide an air-cushion in the well by making air-holes 38 through the bottom 39 of the well and form in the well an air-chest 40, in whose side I make air-op enings 4l, that are covered by valves 42, that are arranged so that they can swing open inwardly. The top of the air-chest communicates with the well by means of openings 43, made through the partition G and the platform E. By these means air is admitted within the well and in the parts below it, and its too speedy escape before the descending carrier is prevented. The fall of the carrier on the platform is further controlled by the spring y F under the platform E.

The various door and window openings are so made and arranged as to be readily removed to give access to the operative parts in the well.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In elevators for letters and othel1 articles, the combination of the carrier B, the hoisting apparatus composed of the drivingwheel 6, provided with cogs 9, the crank 7, wheel l1, adapted to engage wheel 6, pulley 13, band 14, pulley 15, drum 17, rope 20, brakearm 10, the cord 28, and the connections be tween said cord 2S and the carrier B, constructed and operated substantially as described.

2. In an elevator for letters and other articles, the combination, with the carrier B, suspended on the rope 20, which connects the carrier with the hoisting mechanism, of the pulley 25, provided with attached annular rims 29, which revolve with the pulley and are contracted toward each other beyond the rope-carrying periphery of the pulley, to prevent the rope from being thrown off the pulley at any point when the rope is thrown upward in' a direction away from the pulley,

substantially as described.

3. In elevatorsforletters and other articles,

the stop when the hinged door is swung to close the opening in lthe well, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES E. REID.

Witnesses:

C. W. FREEMAN, WM. W. Rosn. 

